A Little History

What do they say ........... If you don't know your history your doomed to repeat it...........

After doing some research on the building I found this.

My question is how many of the current board of directors were here for this ..

And if any are left on the board ....... Why are they still there? .. Just saying ...

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DISTRICT ATTORNEY QUEENS COUNTY

125-01 QUEENS BOULEVARD

KEW GARDENS, NEW YORK 11415-1568

718-286-6000

Release # 127-2010 www.queensda.org

RICHARD A. BROWN DISTRICT ATTORNEY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: KEVIN RYAN

TUESDAY, JULY 13, 2010 HELEN PETERSON MERIS CAMPBELL 718-286-6315

MANAGING AGENT CHARGED WITH EMBEZZLING $950,000 FROM FIVE QUEENS APARTMENT BUILDINGS

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced today that the former managing agent of five apartment buildings in Queens has been charged with embezzling nearly $950,000 in tenant maintenance fees over a six-year period.

District Attorney Brown said, “The defendant is accused of using his position of trust as a fiduciary agent to unjustly enrich himself by siphoning off hundreds of thousands of dollars in maintenance funds intended for building expenses. The defendant allegedly carried out his scheme like a Ponzi scam – commingling all of the funds into one account and hiding the thefts by paying the expenses of one client with the monies of other clients. His alleged conduct represents a betrayal of the confidence that the boards of each building had in him.”

The District Attorney identified the defendant as Michael Richter, 50, of 9 Summit Drive in Manhasset, Long Island. Richter, who is presently awaiting arraignment in Queens Criminal Court, is charged with five counts of second-degree grand larceny and five counts of first-degree falsifying business records. If convicted, he faces up to fifteen years in prison.

The District Attorney said that, according to the criminal charges, Richter and his company, Charter Management Realty Inc., worked as the management agent for several Queens apartment buildings. As such, building tenants were required to remit their monthly maintenance payments directly to Charter Management, which then allegedly deposited all the funds in a single lockbox bank account. The funds were intended to cover the monthly expenses for each building, such as staff salaries, water bills, insurance, heat and other expenses. However, it is alleged that Richter stole a total of approximately $949,877 from the lockbox account between January 2004 and August 2009, and falsified the business records of each building by sending out annual accounting reports that covered up the thefts.

Among the alleged victims and their losses were: the 84-49 Owners Corporation located at 84-49 168th Street in Jamaica ($313,879.80), the 67th Housing Corporation located at 99-21 67th Road in Rego Park ($57,336.75), the Majestic Tenants Corporation located at 110-20 71st Avenue in Forest Hills ($91,000), the Berkeley Apartment Corporation located at 99-45 67th Road in Rego Park ($353,963.92), and the Sherwood Village Co-op B located at 99-14 59th Avenue in Elmhurst ($133,696.64).

Charter Management Realty Inc., of New Hyde Park, New York, closed in August 2009.

The investigation was conducted by Detective Richard A. Lewis, of the District Attorney’s Detective Bureau, under the supervision of Sergeant John W. Kenna and Lieutenant Robert J. Burke, and the overall supervision of Deputy Chief Investigator Albert D. Velardi and Chief Investigator Lawrence J. Festa. Also assisting in the investigation were Assistant District Attorneys Carey B. Alpert and Edward K. Suh and Forensic Accountant Emery W. Nemeth, all of the District Attorney’s Economic Crimes Bureau.

Assistant District Attorney Alpert is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Gregory C. Pavlides, Bureau Chief, and Christina Hanophy, Deputy Bureau Chief, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney Linda M. Cantoni.

It should be noted that a complaint is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. # Note to Editors: Press release e-version posted at www.queensda.org.

http://www.queensda.org/newpressreleases/2010/july/richter_07_13_2010_cmp.pdf

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Managing agent charged in $950,000 Queens co-op scandal

byDawn Lim

Jul 20, 2010 | 4844 views | 0 | 18 | |

The Berkeley Apartment Corporation in Rego Park, the hardest hit out of the five Queens apartments, lost $354,000.

Most residents at 84-49 Owners Corporation trusted Michael Richter. The building manager had fixed garage doors, dealt with water bills, and kept their Queens cooperative spick-and-span for more than 10 years. His corporate website boasted that his company Charter Management Realty “brings to the management of their buildings: Honesty, Integrity and Commitment. These are qualities not always seen in managing agents and rarely in tandem.” The co-op board had worked closely with his family before Richter took over the business and renamed it. But in March last year, board members at the Jamaica building on 168th street and 84th Avenue noticed that thousands of dollars in utility bills had not been paid. Accounting reports weren’t adding up. Word got around that other co-op boards in Queens were dropping Charter like the plague. When the board fired Richter last May, it was too late. Queens District Attorney Richard Brown announced on July 13 that Richter had embezzled nearly $950,000 in maintenance fees from five Queens apartment buildings over six years. 84-49 Owners Corporation had taken a hit of over $313,000. Richter was charged in a Queens Criminal Court on five counts of second-degree grand larceny and five counts of first-degree falsifying business records. “The defendant allegedly carried out his scheme like a Ponzi scam – co-mingling all of the funds into one account and hiding the thefts by paying the expenses of one client with the monies of other clients,” said Brown. His “conduct represents a betrayal of the confidence that the boards of each building had in him,” he added. In Berkeley Apartment Corporation, which lost the most – nearly $354,000 – the Rego Park residents want their money back. Preston Forman, who has lived in the building for 14 years, said, “The situation here has been real interesting since news broke out. Many people are very angry.” Another resident privately complained that Richter had also been brusque and “treated some of us real disrespectful.” The co-op board had known that Richter was pooling together funds from various buildings for maintenance fees, but “didn’t appreciate the need to have a dedicated account because a lot of this decision was based on trust,” said the co-op’s attorney Eric Goidel. Board president John Dereszewski described Richter’s actions as “terrible transgressions against our community” in a bulletin posted on a building billboard. Dereszewski would not comment further on the situation. Abbey Goldstein, the attorney for Sherwood Village Co-op B, an Elmhurst apartment building that lost over $133,000 in the scandal, said that in his 30 years representing co-ops, this case is not an unusual one. “In blue-collar areas, tenants are more likely they will rely on their ‘professionals,’ so to speak,” Goldstein said, “Usually, there is no problem with this. But when you assume honesty, there are instances where trust will be abused.” In 2008, Charter was ordered to pay a Nassau County cooperative $353,000 for siphoning of their funds. Richter’s lawyer Kevin Keating insisted, however, that Richter “doesn’t have a record.” “We will continue to review the facts and circumstances of this matter and are hopeful of a resolution in the near future,” Keating said. Read more:Forest Hills Times - Managing agent charged in 950 000 Queens co op scandal

http://www.foresthillstimes.com/view/full_story/8825117/article-Managing-agent-charged-in--950-000-Queens-co-op-scandal

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HE WAS A SUPER EMBEZZLER: QDA

Say Bldg. Mgr. Took Tenants For $950K

by Patrick Clark

The former managing agent of five apartment buildings in Queens has been charged with embezzling nearly $950,000 in tenant maintenance fees over a six-year period, Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced.

Brown said that the defendant, identified as Michael Richter, 50, of Summit Drive in Manhasset, L.I., is charged with five counts of seconddegree grand larceny and five counts of first-degree falsifying business records. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

“The defendant is accused of using his position of trust as a fiduci- ary agent to unjustly enrich himself by siphoning off hundreds of thousands of dollars in maintenance funds intended for building expenses,” said the district attorney. “The defendant allegedly carried out his scheme like a Ponzi scam—commingling all of the funds into one account and hiding the thefts by paying the expenses of one client with the monies of other clients. His alleged conduct represents a betrayal of the confidence that the boards of each building had in him.”

According to the criminal charges, Richter and his company, Charter Management Realty Inc., worked as the management agent for several Queens apartment buildings. As such, building tenants were required to remit their monthly maintenance payments directly to Charter Management, which then allegedly deposited all the funds in a single lockbox bank account.

The funds were intended to cover the monthly expenses for each building, such as staff salaries, water bills, insurance, heat and other expenses. However, it is alleged that Richter stole a total of approximately $949,877 from the lockbox account between January 2004 and August 2009, and falsified the business records of each building by sending out annual accounting reports that covered up the thefts.

Among the alleged victims and their losses were: the 67th Housing Corporation located at 99-21 67th Rd. in Rego Park ($57,336.75), the Majestic Tenants Corporation located at 110-20 71st Ave. in Forest Hills ($91,000), the Berkeley Apartment Corporation located at 99-45 67th Rd. in Rego Park ($353,963.92), the Sherwood Village Co-op B located at 99-14 59th Ave. in Elmhurst ($133,696.64) and the 84-49 Owners Corporation located at 84-49 168th St. in Jamaica ($313,879.80).

Charter Management Realty Inc. had promised clients on its website that “we are your financial watchdogs and we take our job very seriously.” The New Hyde Park, L.I., company closed in August 2009.

In the summer of 2008, according to a report in Habitat Magazine, Richter was mandated by a Nassau County judge to pay a former client—Anchors Edge in Freeport, L.I.—over $350,000 after the development sued Richter over the missing funds.

The investigation was conducted by Det. Richard A. Lewis, of the District Attorney’s Detective Bureau, under the supervision of Sgt. John W. Kenna and Lt. Robert J. Burke, and the overall supervision of Deputy Chief Investigator Albert D. Velardi and Chief Investigator Lawrence J. Festa. Also assisting in the investigation were Assistant District Attorneys Carey B. Alpert and Edward K. Suh and Forensic Accountant Emery W. Nemeth, all of the District Attorney’s Economic Crimes Bureau.

Assistant District Attorney Alpert is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Gregory C. Pavlides, Bureau Chief, and Christina Hanophy, Deputy Bureau Chief, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney Linda M. Cantoni.

It was noted that a complaint is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

http://www.timesnewsweekly.com/news/2010-07-15/Crime_(and)_Cases/HE_WAS_A_SUPER_____EMBEZZLER_QDA.html

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